Due to having to move again in an unexpected rush (we had to move everything out of my mother-in-law’s house in two evenings) we have fallen behind on writing our blog entries. Even now, we are still working on unburying everything and getting the new place settled in.
The reason why we had to move was because it wasn’t safe for my family to be in that home and our main focus is to protect our three-year-old daughter from being in harm’s way. So we are blessed that our friend is renting her dad’s rental home and is having us live with her.
A positive for us is that we have a dedicated game room in the new place and our big game table is out of the cold and is being used again.
Anyways, now time back to the normal blog….
The game for this week is one that I am ever so grateful to a few people for. First, it is a game from my favorite designer, Francesco Testini, so I am grateful for him telling me about it. Second, I am grateful to Nick & Tim from our FLGS (Around the Table) who went to Essen Spiel this year and picked up the game for me AND had Francesco sign it.
So now, I present to you, the next great game from the one, the only, Francesco Testini called Legend Raiders.
LEGEND RAIDERS (2022)
Hail to you, intrepid explorer! You've been selected to take part to the biggest event in the world. The best among explorers, archeologist, and adventurers will compete to decide who's the most excellent. The veil of mystery continues to surround many treasures and legendary places: Will you be able to dig them up and prove that you are the best? —"Legend Raiders Inc. - Scouting Bureau"
In Legend Raiders, each player represents an adventurer who wants to collect as many ancient coins (a.k.a., victory points or VPs) as possible, searching for legendary treasures and mythical places. In every round on the main board are four different missions, each composed of a discovery to be performed and two random tools (ropes, shovels, compasses and maps) supplied by the bureau. The explorer who gains the most points wins.
On their turn, a player chooses between two actions:
• Take a discovery and place it on the personal board together with the two randomly related tools, or
• Perform one or more discoveries with the tools already on the personal board.
To be discovered, each treasure requires a specific combination of tools. Places require more tools than artifacts, but will give more VPs in the following expeditions. When a player uses their favorite tool, they gain more VPs; the torch can be used as a joker by turning it off, but only if it's on!
Discovering new treasures gives the player VPs based on number of ancient coins visible on the personal board, uncovered by the ongoing missions. Solving one mission at a time allows the player to have more visible ancient coins and thus to score more VPs, but having more missions on the board and solving more of them in a single turn gives the player a benefit in terms of time. Each time one or more legendary treasures are discovered, the player also gains a expedition card from the four available at the bureau; expedition cards show goals that grant VPs at the end of the game if achieved.
At the beginning of each round, the player rolls the adventure die and gains the resulting benefit — or causes the torches of all players to be flipped over!
The game ends when the first player has dug up six or more ancient treasures. Which strategy will you choose to apply? Will you succeed being the best explorer in the world? How many and which mythical treasures will you uncover?
—description from the publisher
No Weight provided at this time (still to new of a game)
A Little More Info
The description above does a good job talking about the game.
What we like about the game
We love that this game is not complex at all. The rules are easy to understand. You roll a die and apply the effect and then take one of two actions. Simple enough, easy to understand.
The artwork is very fitting for the game which takes you on an adventure. We love that for each Character board you can choose between a male and female character and each one is different. Do you want to be Lamar Croft or Lin Diana Jones?? (Actual character names from the game).
The game looks great on a table and does not take up much space. Our first game we played was on top of a bed at my parent’s house.
We do like that it doesn’t take long to play. With having a three year old that constantly wants our attention, this game can still be completed in under an hour.
What we don’t like about the game
We are kind of biased when it comes to Francesco’s games. This one we LOVE too and like everything about it.
FINAL THOUGHTS
We love that most of Francesco’s games are designed so that younger players can play them. Knowing that he has two young children who are lovers of board games too is helpful since I am sure that they help their dad test out new ideas and concepts for games often.
This game is one for young and old to enjoy. We are grateful that Francesco puts his heart and soul into designing his games. This is why we love his games so much (of course, Tang Garden is still my all-time favorite).
FAMILY GAMER VERDICT
We give this game a 10 out 10.
Again, there is some bias on our part for the rating but in all truth, we really do love everything about this game.
We would highly encourage you to pick up a copy and dive right into the adventure.
*** All Images were retrieved from the Legend Raiders BGG page.
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